Insider vs. Outsider
In the car on the way to a scrapbook retreat, my friend Amy asked me if I would ever consider speaking about crafting on a podcast similar to the Paperclipping Roundtable discussion we had been listening to… and I told her that I wasn’t really qualified to do so: that I wouldn’t want to sound naive in comparison to some of the scrapbookers that were speaking on the shows. It’s not that I don’t feel that I’m qualified: I certainly have an opinion about paper crafting and I do enough teaching to prove that I know what I’m talking about. But, I’m not published, I don’t own a store, I’m not on a design team, I rarely update my blog because I just don’t have the time.
Then Paperclipping offered a contest. The task: post an opinion about a topic they have discussed. The prize: a guest spot on a future show. Am I interested now? Yes.
Why? Part of the show includes reading from listener comments/mail/etc… and a few weeks back they had a listener who was complaining about the commentary regarding the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) “cracking down” on membership so that there were fewer non-industry scrapbookers on the floor of the trade show this year. My reaction to the mailbag commentary was all, “Hey, stop discluding me from the new product showcase, you big meanies!” The funny part being that I had listened to the podcasts back-to-back and wasn’t even disturbed when the comment was initially made.
What made me balk the second time around? I understand that there has to be a new product preview for those who actually have the monetary power to buy in bulk and to sell in a retail environment. I completely get that and wholeheartedly support it. However, I feel there is a huge disconnect between the blog coverage of CHA and actual products being sold in stores. Sometimes, you can’t find products for months and by the time you discover them online in a place that isn’t going to break the bank, they are frequently sold out.
My objection is seated in the fact that maybe it’s not so much about the concept of being an insider allowed to attend a coveted trade show, but rather the fact that we are all hobbyists that are equally excited about new products on the market. Some of us get to see them right away, touch them, photograph them, and even walk home with them. Others have to wait months to see them for sale anywhere in a retail environment.
Maybe the focus should be about ways CHA and manufacturers can fix this problem. By introducing the new CHA Supershow pre/post the trade show, I feel they have taken a step in the right direction, but it’s my understanding that most manufacturers don’t stay for the Supershow to show their new products.
The question is: how much more time and effort would it take these manufacturers to stay for a couple more days and show the new products coming for release? Is it a win/win situation? I really don’t know the answer to that question, but the traditional model of selling to retail stores who sell to consumers isn’t quite working. Raleigh is a perfect example of that: three independent stores went out of business in the past three years, but there is definitely a market for it here.
The bottom line is that every other hobby out there has some sort of annual convention that allows like-minded individuals to gather, purchase, discuss, and otherwise enjoy their hobby together. So far, the industry has smaller “retreats” but nothing that is wholeheartedly accepted by a majority of the independent manufactures. CHA and the scrapbooking industry may want to take a lesson from the comic book industry on this one and follow the model of Comic-Con.
P.S. The iTopper was totally a uni-tasker when it was first released, but now you can make buttons, magnets and pins with the tool. Something to consider when talking about something that is so fun and easy to use!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
-->
Love it. We’ve already announced the winner, but this is excellent. I’m going to copy it to our board and see how we want to talk about your thoughts. Most likely we’ll save it until CHA time comes around again, but I’m copying the URL and the content so we can refer back to you.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!